The Coast Guard rescued four people and a dog from a sinking boat in New Jersey on Sunday, it said.
The 30-foot boat was sinking in Barnegat Bay, about 50 miles north of Atlantic City, when the Coast Guard response boat came upon it, the Coast Guard said in a news release, which added that the boat was being used recreationally.
The four people and the dog transferred to the recreational boat, and the sinking boat capsized moments later, the Coast Guard said, adding that the rescue vessel took the four people and the dog to a marina in Lanoka Harbor, about 10 miles north. None of the people on the boat sustained any injuries, the news release said.
The relationship among the four people was unclear.
The commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light, Chief Warrant Officer James B. Corbisiero, said that the owner of the boat believed it was sinking because of a loose plug but that the Coast Guard was not able to confirm that theory.
A commercial salvage company towed the boat to the Lanoka Harbor marina, where the Coast Guard took the four people and their dog, the news release said.
Boaters should wear life jackets, and if a boat they are on capsizes or turns over in the water, they should remain calm and stay with the boat to have the best chance of being rescued, according to BoatUS.org, a nonprofit organization focused on reducing boating accidents and deaths.